Beach chair



Aug. 18, 1936. A. H. HABERSTUMP BEACH CHAIR Filed April 13, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

ATTRNEYS.

Aug. 18, 1936. A. H. HABERSTUMP 2,051,254

BEACH CHAIR Filed April 13, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f 9/ ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 18, 1936 PATENT OFFICE BEACH. cHAm Alfred B. Haber-stump, Detroit, Mich., assignor to The Murray Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application April 13, 1933, Serial No; 665,896

2 Claims.

My invention relates to chairs and particularly to deck or beach chairs ofthe foldable type which 1 are adjustable to several positions andwhich are foldable to a small, compact assembly for storage 5 and carriage purposes.

Foldable chairs heretofore employed were constructed to have tlie*back and front legs in extension of :eaQiiMther as a unit element which "aresulted in a long, cumbersome assembly when in collapsed position. When such chairs were adjustable to several different positions, the arm rest likewise moved at an angle and was, therefore, not retained in a position parallel with-the seat, as is desirable,

In practicing my invention, I provide a back which is separate from the legs of the chair and have the back pivoted to the rear edge of the seat, the pivot resting upon the rearwardly extending legs which are pivoted to the top of the sloping front leg. Several notches are provided on the rearwardly extending legs to which the back is adjustably engaged and arms are provided on the back in parallel relation to the seat, secured to the junction of the front and rear legs and to the back. In view of the parallelogram construction provided by the seat, the arms and .the portion of the back and front legs, the back may be variously sloped by adjusting the pivot between the seat and the back in the notches on the rearwardly extending legs and any position so selected retains the arm of the chair in parallel relation to the seat, which is retained in substantially horizontal position. A canopy is provided for the chair which is made of a single wire frame, the ends of which form the securing means by which the canopy is retained on the chair in engagement with a positioning element in the nature of an embossed washer. A suitable foot and leg rest is provided securable in exten- I sion of the seat, as in the comm'on practice in this type of chair. Suitable seat and back material is secured to the rungs of the chair and suitable reinforcing backing and seat material may be disposed transversely across the back and the seat, respectively, attached to the back and side rails of the chair.

Accordingly, the main objects of my invention are: to provide a foldable chair which is simple in construction and which is readily foldable; to

provide a chair which is adjustable to have the back tilt in any desired manner; to provide a seat for the chair which is hinged to the back, the dowel hingeconnection being extended to form supports by which the back and seat is adjustably arm rests for the chair which are retained parallel at all times with the seat; to reinfroce the back and seat material by transversely disposed strips which are secured to the side rails of the back and seat; to provide a chair which in'foldable 5 position is substantially equal to the length of the rearwardly extending legs of the chair; and, in general, to provide a foldable chair which is simple in construction, economical of manufacture and which, in' collapsed positionfis of small 10 overall length.

Other objects and features of novelty of my invention will be either specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of my invention, to the fol 15 lowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a broken side view of a foldable chair embodying features of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the struc 20 ture illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof.

Fig. 3 is a view of the chair illustrated in Fig. 1 shown, in side elevation, with the parts in folded position. 25

Fig. 4 is a front view, partly in section of the folded chair illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged broken sectional view of a portion of the chair illustrated in Fig. 4, taken on the line 5-5 thereof. 30

Fig. 6 is an enlarged broken sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 4, taken on the line 6-6 thereof.

Fig. 7 is a side view in elevation of a foldable chair, similar'to that illustrated in Fig. 1, show- 35 ing a modified form thereof.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a modifled form of joint between the seat back and seat in which the cross-bar is omitted.

Fig. 9 is a view in side elevation of a foldable 40 chair, similar to that illustrated in Figs. 1 and '7, showing a further modified form thereof.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 9, taken on the line acme thereof, and 45 Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line ii-il thereof.

In Fig. 1, I have illustrated a chair i2 including a back 83, a seat id, rear legs i5, front legs i6 50 and arm rests ll, all of which are so interconnected as to be foldable into a compact assembly. The back is formed by side bars i8 which are supported by cross bars i9 and 2i, the ends of which are shouldered to form dowels which profeet in apertures inthe sidebars II. In a similar manner the seat is composed of side bars 22, the

front ends of the side bars being connected by a I rear leg II to retain the seat in various inclined podtions through the engagement with notches 24 provided in the top edge of the legs. The front legs I are secured to the dowelson the end of the cross bar 23 which extends beyond the side bars 22 of the seat and are pivoted by a rivet 25 to the upper end of the leg IS. The rivets 25 are extended to project through the arm rests so as to be pivotally movable with the leg. The rear end of the arm rests II are attached to the side bars II by rivets 26 which forms a pivot for the arm rests with the back.

Washers 21 are provided on the dowel extensions of the cross bars 2| and 23 between the seat bars 22 and the back side bars II and be- 25 tween the seat side bars 22 and the front legs II, respectively. The washer spaces the bars from each other and from the legs to permit them to be readily folded withoutinterference. The front legs I. are provided with a shoulder cross bar 23 disposed adiacent to the ends of the Jegs to form a foot rest and to brace the legs it. The cross bar 23 is provided with end shouldered portions which are doweled into the legs. In a similar manner, a cross bar 29 is shouldered to form dowels which project intoapertures in the rearwardly extending legs ll, near the rear ends thereof to likewlsebrace the lws.

The frame thus constructed is readily foldable, it being only necessary to grasp the chair, preferably at the cross bar ll, and raise the back to have the dowels on the cross bar 2| disengage the groovesflinthelegs llandgraspthecrossbar 23 and raise it toward the cross bar It. The legs I fold into the same plane of the legs I S and fold against the back l3. as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. The arm rests II are disposed crosswise of the back and seat frames, as illustrated in the figure.

To set up the chair it is only necessary to grasp the cross bar II and push the seat downwardly to have the legs disposed in angular relation and rest the dowel extensions of the cross bars 2| in the selected grooves 24 of the rearwardly extending legs. In view of the parallelogram section, provided between the side bars 22 of the seat I4,

the arm rests II, the upper portion of the front legs It and lower portion of the back i3, the angular position of the back may be changed through the adjustment of the dowels on the cross bar 2| in the groves 24, during which adjustment the arm rests II will always remain in a parallel position to the substantially horizontal seat I.

A suitable cover material 30 is secured to the cross bars ll, 2| and 23, the material of the back and seat first being stitched together at 3| and tacked about the cross bar 2| by a series of tacks 32, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and thereafter the material is stretched around the cross bars l9 and 28 and tacked thereto in a similar manner. When desirable, the cover material of the back and seat may be strengthened. A strip of material It may be disposed under the material 38 of the back and wound around the side bars It, being split to pass over therivet 26, and thereafter tacked on the inner side'to the bars. In a similar manner,

a strip of material 34 may be disposed under the seat portion 30 of the material and wound about the side bars 22 and tacked thereagainst on the inner side of the bars. Such reinforcing material adds strength to the seat and back material 30 and prevents the material from becoml ing stretched and torn.

A leg rest 3! of conventional, type comprises a frame 38 having a set of foldable legs 31 on the front thereof and having metal hooks 33, illustrated in Fig 6, in extension of the frame, which it are engageable with the cross bar 23 at the front of the seat to have the frame disposed in extension of the seat. The leg rest is removable and may be employed only when desired, the cross bar, 28 being utilized as a foot rest when the leg rest is not used. The foot rest is preferably provided with a plurality of slats 30 which are retained in slightly are position by a central cross bar ll.

A canopy 42 is securable to the top of the side bars ll of the back 3, the canopy being formed 20 of a wire 43 which is bent in a U-shape and then downwardly at each end at 44 and sloping therefrom at 48 so as to position the canopy in a substantially horizontal position when the back is disposed in an angular position. In Fig. 11, I have illustrated the end of the rod 43 as being bent inwardly at 40 and being threaded at the end to be engaged by thumb screws 41. A washer 48 is secured to the outer surface of the chair by nails 4. or other suitable means, aligned with an aperture through the bars II. The washer is providedwith a plurality of upstanding embossed portions 5| which are spaced apart toreoeive the wire 43 toprevent it from moving angularly about the. inwardly bent portion ll of the canopy. When the thumb nuts I are tightened, the canopy is retained in rigid extension of the side bars ll of the back frame and is readily removable by removing the thumb nuts 41 and springing the wire framing out of the apertures in the bars.

I A suitable covering material '2 is stretched over the canopy with a portion extending down around the sides thereof, as illustrated in the figure. A canopy of this type is simple of construction and attachment and is adjustable to conform to the position of the chair so as to extend over the occupant.

In Fig. 'l, I have shown a modified form of the chair illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein the front legs 54 are provided with metal L-shaped elements 85, one branch of whichis fixed to the legs which are pivoted by rivets It to the arm rests II. The rearwardly extended portion of the elements 55 are pivoted to the rear leg 51 by the rivet $8. The back side bars I are secured to the seat side bars- 22 by a cross bar I! being doweled thereto flush with the outer surfaces of the croubar. The side bars 60 are extended to form an arcuate shaped portion 6|, the shape of grooves 32 in the rearwardly extending leg 51, the selective engagement of which positions the back anguiarly relative to the seat. A canopy 83 is provided formed of a rectangular wire frame 64 having U-shaped arms ll welded or otherwise attached thereto. A top material !2 is stretched over the frame and the frame is supported upon the side rails Oil of the back, by screw eyes 66 which, when tightened against the rails, position the top relative to the back. In this type of construction. the canopy folds directly against the back and forms a compact assembly therewith. The leg rest 61 differs from the leg rest 35 of Fig. l by being extended and provided with a notch 10 which projects over the front cross bar 23 in lieu of the metal hooks 38.

When the cross bar 59 is omitted the back rails are riveted to the seat bars 22 by rivets 68, as illustrated in Fig. 8. In this construction, the back and seat material 69 is supported only on the cross bars I9 and 23 of the seat and is suspended as a sling therebetween. To position the back rails 60 and the side rails 22 at the junction thereof, relative to the rearwardly extending legs 51, the notch 62 is only disposed half way through the thickness of the leg and the extension 6| is provided only of the outer half of the back rails 60 so as to engage the notch 62 to position the back side rails 60 in alignment with the legs to prevent them from moving inwardly thereof, as clearly illustrated in the overlapping arrangement as shown in Fig. 8. In the chair illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 the rearwardly extending leg 51 folds in aligned relation to the front leg 54, instead of folding in the same lateral plane as in the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, and is aligned with the back side bars 60 forming a foldable structure of three thicknesses, that is to say, that of the front leg 54, the rearwardly extending leg 51 and the back side bars 58, all fold on top of each other.

As a further extension of my invention, I have illustrated a chair in Fig. 9 wherein front legs H are pivoted to the rearwardly extending legs 12 by the rivets 13 which likewise pivot the arm rests 14 thereto. A bottom frame 15 has the cross brace 16 thereof pivoted to the front legs ll being spaced by washers 2'! above referred to. The back end of the side bars of the frame are retained together by a cross brace 11. The back is composed of two side bars 18 which are interconnected by a cross brace I9, the dowel ends of which are extended to engage notches 8| disposed in the upper surface of the leg I2. The arm rests M are pivoted to the back side bars by the rivets 82 and no rigid connection is provided between the upper ends of the back side bars 18.

To form a back on the upstanding end of the side bars 18 a suitable material is provided which is first sewn over a stiffening element 83 such as buckram, heavy canvas or the like, and has loops 84 formed on the ends of the material which slide over the ends of the side bars 18 and are retained in predetermined position by one or more tacks 85. A seat material 86, similar to the material 30, is tacked about the cross bars 16 and H of the seat 15 to form the seat of the chair. The back side bars 18 are extended below the seat and engage the rearwardly extending legs 12 and form an upright chair which, is not adjustable. In view of the upright position, the crossbars 28 and 29 at the bottom of the legs may be moved upwardly since they will not interfere with the limbs of the occupant, as they would in the type of chair illustrated in Figs. 1 and '7.

To fold the chair it is only necessary to raise the back to disengage the dowel ends of the cross bars 19 from the notches 8| of the rear legs and by raising the front edge of the seat, preferably by the front bar 16, the seat readily folds against the back with the front legs 16 disposed inwardly' so as to be aligned with the rearwardly extending legs 12, and disposed against the back bars I8.

It will thus be seen that I have constructed a chair which is'adjustable and readily folded into a very compact assembly which may be disposed in a cover and which will occupy very little room so as to be readily transported. The back joins with the seat and is directly attachable to the rearwardly extending legs, being so connected with an arm rest and front leg that the position- 5 ing of the junction of the back with the rearwardly extending legs, positions the back at various degrees of angularity and always retains the arm rest in a substantially horizontal position, parallel to the seat. The canopy provided for the chair 10 consists of a wire frame having the ends thereof threaded to receive thumb screws so as to be readily attached to the back in any adjustable position and so as to be readily removable therefrom. The construction is novel in view of its 15 foldability, accomplished by merely releasing the back from the rearwardly extending legs and raising the front edge of the seat to form a small compact assembly.

While I have described and illustrated several embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions, additions and substitutions may be. made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as set forth in the 25 accompanying claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A collapsible chair comprising, front leg and back rest portions, and arm rest and seat portions, respectively forming opposite sides of a parallelogram pivoted at its corners with the back rest portion extending below the lower pivot point thereof, and a rear leg portion pivoted at the juncture of the arm rest and front leg portions and adapted to extend diagonally across and detachably connected at its other end to the extended end of the back rest portion, the back rest portion projecting beyond its pivot with the arm rest portion in one direction to an extent substantially less than the length of the arm rest portion, the front leg portion projecting beyond its pivot with the seat portion in the opposite direction toan extent substantially the length of the seat portion, and the rear leg portion extending from its pivot substantially the length of two adjacent sides of the parallelogram, whereby the chair can be compactly folded.

2. A collapsible chair comprising, front leg and back rest portions, and arm rest and seat portions, respectively forming opposite sides of a par allelogram pivoted at its corners with the back rest portion extending below the lower pivot point thereof, a rear leg portion pivoted at the juncture of the arm rest and front leg portions and adapted to extend diagonally across the parallelogram, and means at the end of the extending back rest portion engageable .with the rear leg portion for holding the chair to desired seating position, the back rest portion projecting beyond its pivot with the arm rest portion in one direction to an extent substantially less than the length ofthe arm rest portion, the front leg portion projecting beyond its pivot with the seat portion in'the opposite direction to an extent substantially the length of the seat portion, and the rear leg portion extending from its pivot substantially the length of two adjacent sides of the parallelogram, whereby the chair can be compactly folded.

ALFRED H. HABERSTUMP. 

